2004 - 2005 Secondary Teacher of the Year

Holly Morgan

Mrs. Morgan, Guidance Director at Great Bridge High School, earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in English and Humanities at Florida State University. She completed her Master of Science in Guidance and Counseling at Radford University. Her entire 20-year career has been spent serving the children of the Great Bridge community. Mrs. Morgan taught English and Humanities at Great Bridge High School from 1976-1986. In 1987, she entered the field of guidance; taking a counselor position at Great Bridge Junior High School. Mrs. Morgan transferred to a guidance position at Great Bridge High School a year later; and then in 1991 became a guidance counselor.

Mrs. Morgan's professional and community activities are numerous. She states, "I attempt to serve as a model in the community in dealing with and helping students and their families, hoping this attitude encourages other people to apply the same principles in their own lives."

Mrs. Carolyn Bernard, Principal, writes, "Holly has a unique ability to manage jobs, ideas, and people. She always focuses on positives and is open to all people and new ideas. As a result, students, faculty, parents, and colleagues throughout the community enjoy working both with and for Holly. Her "can do" attitude and problem solving abilities are legendary at GBHS, and she serves our staff as an experienced, well prepared, and well-informed resource.

A former student and present Great Bridge High Teacher, Kathi Fitzgerald writes, "Mrs. Morgan became a mentor and a role model to me as, under her tutelage, I studied English, Humanities, and edited the school newspaper, The Bridge. Her enthusiasm for her subject and the dedication with which she guided The Bridge Staff had a lasting impact on me. Her orderly, meticulous lessons, her careful attention to the awkward attempts at profundity we made in our discussions and writing, the comfortable rapport she enjoyed with her students - these were her classroom legacy. Mrs. Morgan was the last teacher I tearfully said goodbye to at the end of my senior year. She was the special teacher, the one I thought of first in later years when I recalled my high school days, the one who cared the most."

In summarizing her philosophy of education, Mrs. Morgan states, "as a guidance counselor and director, through my work with students I hope to accomplish a goal similar to what my father had for me and my brothers: to encourage them to think for and be themselves, as they are ultimately responsible for the course and success of their lives. In the end, I am only a part of a greater whole, one composed of the other counselors and, naturally, the entire staff. As a team player, my own success as an educator owes much to their support and efforts. For that support I am truly grateful."